Jason ‘Mr. Startups’ Calacanis may not do patents, but he has just done an episode of his weekly TV show where he brought in a seasoned patent attorney and a prolific inventor to take us through the latest developments on the US patent scene

I suspect this is going to be uncannily valuable viewing, whether you know nothing or a great deal about patents, simply because someone with Jason’s background is going to ask a lot of ‘naive’ questions that raise issues which benefit from his unique perspective on the startup scene

He’s broken the YouTube video of the show down into segments which can be accessed question by question using the links below (everybody should do this, although it looks like it needs a significant amount of work to put it together).

00:00–00:30 Intro
1:12: Welcome to the Patent Episode1:30 Tyler: How many patents have you filed?1:45 Jason: I’ve never filed any patents2:18 Introduction to Reid3:30–5:15 Surveymonkey Ad5:30–6:30 Tyler talks about SurveyMonkey6:49– 7:18 Let’s get right into it, let’s talk patents.7:46– 8:45 Why patent?9:00– 9:40 How long have patents existed? What are the point of patents?9:51– 10:45 Let’s talk about the filing process. I’ve heard it’s very expensive and time consuming?11:19 – 12:21 Guests define prior art and ‘skilled in the art’
12: 53 – 13: 50 Types of patents, including ‘plant patents’ and design patents13:57– 14: 35 Patents vs Copyright and Trademarks14:40– 15:15 Introduction to software patents, why they are tricky
15: 20- 16:00 Dave Mathews’ worst patent ever, CueCat!17:00– 18:00Patent application process, enforceable component explained18:15– 19:30 Multi-touch patent. Or as Jason calls it, Apple’s ‘Pinching Patent’19:45– 20:30 Why claims are most important, especially as it pertains to litigation20:30 – 21:22 Claims explained, especially in terms of constructing language that can protect a patent22:04– 23:30 Explanation of how patents can be circumnavigated by solving a problem using a new method24:00– 25:00Patent Trolls25:03 –26:00 Who writes patents?26:39 – 27:18 Can somebody file a patent without an attorney? Would it be defensible?27:26 – Has patenting become the domain of the rich?27:40– 30:29MailChimp Ad Read30:40– 31:46 In terms of real money, how much does this process cost? How long does it take?31:47– 32: 21 How thorough are the patent claims reviewers?32:25 – 33:10 You can get back some of the money you invested over that time through patent term33:48– 34:30 How patents affect apps, and other mobile services34:30– 35:10 How do on-Practicing entities, AKA Patent Trolls, operate35:20 – 36:20 How did we get to this point, where people sue over patents constantly?36:30 – 37:15 Are we getting to the point where devices are going to have to remove certain features in order to comply with patents?37:42 – 38:40 Invention house run by Nathan Myhrvold39:00 – 40:00 The method patent, and the glut of ip patents from the 90s40:26– 41:00 Different ways to claim a system
41: 50 In re Bilski discussed42:24 – 43:06 Europe doesn’t allow software patents. Should we do a similar thing in the US?43:35– 44:38 What chance does any small company have against giant companies that are filing an inordinate numbers of patents?44:55– 45:48 Are patents killing innovation?46:00– 47:12 Is there abuse going on in the system, and are patent trolls abusive?47:30– 48:45 Discussion of the America Invents Act, and implications of “First To File”48:50– 49:55 Does the America Invents Act favor the Patent Trolls? Does it make the fight for smaller inventors harder?50:00 Is the goal of the America Invents Act to accelerate innovation?50:57 What is the Inventors Logbook? Is this standard practice?51:45 – 52:46 When a patent is granted, is it written in stone or can it be overturned?52:59 – 54:00 Is this litigation trend evidenced by the current battles over wireless patents?54:09 – 54: 45 Let’s talk about the damages, because some people have had huge damages awarded. What are treble damages?
55: 25 – 56:07 I haven’t experienced patent litigation in the Internet space. Is this common?56:10– 56: 59 What’s the advice for startups? Should you bother getting patents?57:00– 57:30 Tyler talks about his experiences earning patents57:44 – 58:10 Who draws patents?58:18– 59:00 When you submit, is that public? Can you request non-publication until grant?59:00 Discussion of trade secrets
1:00:00- 1:00:55 Anti-trolls! We haven’t covered that too well. Who’s out there doing this, like the EFF?
1:01:17: Thank you Reid Dammann, and Dave Mathews.
1:02:30 Dave talks invention bonuses
1:02: 50 Explanation of royalties
1:03: 30 Benefits of buying patents
1:04:17 How many patents do these big companies hold? Discussion of IBM, who holds the most.
1:05:11 Can you patent open source material after the fact?
1:06:05 Get yourself a good attorney, because I wondered if people should start filing dozens of patents? Just to make the system so murky so that you can force patent reform.
1:07:09 Discussion of www.pat2pdf.org
1:08: 57 Wrap! Thanks to Mailchimp, and SurveyMonkey, go to twistlist.co to sign up for our mailing list, and we will see you next time on TWiST.